Veterinary file-holder



(No Model.)

D. M. SOI-IEFFER. VETERINARY FILE HOLDER.

Patented May 14, 1889.

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N. PETERS Pholn'ljlhognpher. Washingnn 0.0

NITED STATES PATENT f OFFICE.

DAVID M. SCHEFFER, OF NEW CASTLE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO HAUSHANN, MCCOMB& DUNN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS VETERINARY FILE-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,145, dated May 14,1889. Application filed July 26, I888. Serial No. 281,130. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID M. SOHEFFER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of New Castle, in the county of Henry and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFile-Holders, of which" the following is a specification. x Thisinvention relates to improvements in file-holders especially designedfor the use of veterinary surgeons, in which heretofore the file hasbeen secured in position by set-screws passing through the holder andentering the body of the file. In this old form of device, however, theedges of the file were left unprotected and projected from the handle insuch manner as to constantly endanger the laceration of the gums of theanimal being operated upon, frequently rendering the mouth so sore as toprevent the animal from eating for some time, which, however, is by nomeans the most serious damage that might result from such laceration.

The prime object of this invention is to avoid the danger of laceratingor otherwise injuring the mouth or gums of the animal by providing aholder for the file of such a character that the edges thereof will beopposed to and shielded by the rounded edges of the holder upon allsides, whereby neither the edges nor the operating-faces of the file canbe brought into contact with the gums or mouth of the animal.

Another object is to have the file detachably secured in the holder byfriction only, whereby it may be readily reversed or removed and thenecessity for perforating or otherwise marring the same dispensed with.

A further object is to have a jointed or double holder provided withreverse files and tongue-shields, thus combining a right and left toolin one instrument, whereby the operator may not only operate upon eitherside of either jaw with one and the same instrument, but he is alsoenabled to ascertain by observing the unused part of the instrumentduring the operation the exact angle or position of the operating filerelative to the teeth.

I attain these objects by the devices illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a file andholder embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a transverse section on the line2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a similar section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1,showing the manner of holding the files rigidly in position.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the severalfigures of the draw- 111 's.

Iteferring by letter to the accompanying 6o drawings, A 13 represent thetwo parts of the file handle or holder, connected together by arule-joint, C, which permits the folding of the file for convenience oftransportation, and also enables the bringing of the handles intoalignment with each other, in which position they will be locked by theshoulders D of said joint coming into engagement, so that in operationeither section of the holder may be held in the hand. The outer freeends of the sections are formed into a U-shaped socket,

E, by having the end F extend backwardly,

so as to oppose a lug or boss, G, projecting laterally from the mainportion of the handle, with which engages a screw, H, working freelythrough the end of the part F, so as to cause the said part F to movelaterally. In the U- shaped portion of the handles is socketed a file,I, held between the part F and the opposing body of the handle byfriction only, the spring of the metal composing the part F beingutilized to release the file whenever the screw H is manipulated.

On the inner or opposing faces of the holder the file lies flush with orslightly below the edges of the holder, which latter are rounded off atthe front and rear and upon one side, while upon the opposite side andprojecting from the body of the handle beyond the face of the file is atongue-shield, J, extending substantially the entire length of the file,rounded upon the edges thereof, and preferably projecting about a halfinch above the operating-face of the file. This shield, in the practicaluse of the file, is designed to lie on the inside of the teeth, so as toprevent the laceration of the tongue by its being inserted between thefile and the teeth during the operation of filing, and this will I bethe case whether the upper or lower jaw IOO of the animal is beingoperated upon, because each section of the handle is provided with ashield upon the same side, but reversed as to the file; and hence onefile will be employed while operating upon the left hand side of theupper or right-hand side of the lower jaw, and vice versa. All the otheredges of the holder are also rounded, so that in operation, if broughtinto contact with the cheek or gums of the animal, the parts will not belacerated, as has been the case in the prior construction, in which theedges of the file, particularly the front and rear edges thereof, haveprojected above the holder, so that the sharp edges thereof wouldlacerate the cheek and gums of the animal at almost every stroke of thefile.

The peculiar method of holding the file in positio'n, as herein shownand described, is also of advantage, not only because it reduces theweight of the filo as a whole, but also because it obviates thenecessity for having a screwthreaded hole in the file, from which thescrew must be removed every time it is desired to reverse or change thefile, and a file so constructed is far more convenient for manipulationthan the devices heretofore in use,because of the greater facility withwhich the file may be removed from or reversed in the holder.

Another advantage of employing ajointed or double holder, either sectionof which constitutes a handle when the file on the other is inoperation, is that in such an instrument is embodied the two instrumen sheretofore necessary for performing its functions, a right and a left,or two distinct and separate tools, reversed as to each other foroperating on the different sides of the upper and lower jaws, besideswhich the operator can readily ascertain the exact angle at which thefile is working on the teethby simply observing the angle of the sectionheld in his hand, while in the old and single form of instruments theround handle gives no indication whatever of the position of the file inthe animals mouth,and as a consequence the successful performance of theoperation is rendered extremely difficult and fatiguing both to theanimal and operator.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

1. The combination, with a file, of a holder provided with a socket forthe reception of said file, and a spring clamping device for locking thefile in position, "whereby friction alone operates to hold the file,substantially as described.

2. The combination, with afile, of a holder provided with a socket forthe reception and of substantially the depth of said file, a spring-armon said holder, and a screw wor cing through said arm and engaging thebody of said holder, substantially as described.

3. The jointed holder composed of sections having a hinge-connectiontherebetween, in combination with files mounted in each of saidsections, substantially as described.

4.. The jointed holder composed of sections hinged together, each ofwhich has a filesocket therein,and tongue-shields at the re verse sidesof said sockets, in combination with files fitting into each of saidsockets and spring clamping devices for locking said files in position,substantially as described.

DAVID M. SOI-IEFFER.

Witnesses:

J. O. BooNE, S. E. COLTON.

